Dark hidden meanings behind different prison tattoos

It seems like nearly everyone who has been in prison will have a tattoo to commemorate their time there, no matter if it's a minor driving infraction or murder that got you in there.

Thanks to TV shows, or maybe you genuinely know someone who has it, we're probably all familiar with the teardrop tattoo under the eye, which usually symbols the death of a loved one.

If it's filled, it might even signify that the prisoner has avenged that death, and you can spot that particular body art on Jeremy Meeks, the man who went viral as the world's hottest felon.

But it turns out there's a pretty wide range of prison tattoos on offer, and just in case you ever find yourself behind bars, it's probably a good idea to read up on exactly what some of them mean, as they can often have a dark story behind them.

After the teardrop, one of the most common tattoos you'll see on prisoners is the clock or watch without hands, which usually means that the owner is spending a lot of time incarcerated. You might also see an hourglass, presumably without any sand.

Clocks with no hands are pretty common behind bars ( Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic)

Next up is the borstal mark, which could easily be mistaken for the teardrop since it's likely to be a blue dot on someone's face. It's unlikely that you will see one of these on any younger prisoners however, as it signifies that they will have spent time in a borstal - which is essentially a version of juvenile detention mixed with military school. Borstals were abolished nearly 40 years ago though, so you'd have to be chatting so someone pretty old to see one.

Spiderwebs are also a fairly regular sight, and it's not because everyone's a fan of Tom Holland or Tobey Maguire. They simply suggest that the owner is feeling stuck, which is natural when you can't travel particularly far away from your cell.

Now it's time to move on to the dots and the acronyms. People who have these outside of prison probably think that it makes them look mysterious but in jail, it's vital you know what stands for what.

If you ever see ACAB spread across someone's knuckles, then you might have to assess yourself whether it's likely to mean 'All Coppers Are B******s' or 'Always Carry A Bible'.

EWMN is supposedly popular among biker gangs and means Evil Wicked Mean Nasty, so you might want to steer clear of that particular person.

But the initials AB might be the worst of the lot, as unless their name is Alan Brown, it's likely to stand for 'Alice Baker', which might sound innocent but it's actually a nickname for a neo-Nazi white supremacist group known as the Aryan Brotherhood.

Prison tattoos are all the rage apparently (Jam STA ROSA / AFP via Getty Images)

In terms of dots, three and five are the most likely, with the former either representing the three words mi vida loca, “my crazy life,” or the holy Catholic trinity. It can also once again be a slur against police, meaning Death to Cows, which I imagine is quite a common sentiment in prison.

Five dots however is most common in Russia, with a central dot signifying the prisoner and the four other dots representing watchtowers. It's worth noting that Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb, also had this tattoo despite never spending any time behind bars. He was probably just noting something down.

Russian prisons are also home to the grin and knife through neck tattoos, which you can probably guess mean that the owner has done something pretty heinous but doesn't really regret it at all.